Hélène Pastor
| Hélène Pastor | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1937 Monaco |
| Died |
May 21, 2014 (aged 76–77) Hospital St Roch in Nice, France |
| Cause of death | murder |
| Residence | Monaco |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Net worth | $3.7 billion |
| Spouse(s) | 2, including Claude Pallanca |
| Children |
Sylvia Pastor Gildo Pallanca Pastor |
| Parent(s) | Gildo Pastor |
| Relatives |
Jean-Baptiste Pastor (paternal grandfather) Michel Pastor (brother) Victor Pastor (brother) Philippe Pastor (nephew) Patrice Pastor (nephew) Wojciech Janowski (son-in-law) |
Hélène Pastor (1937 – May 21, 2014) was an heiress, businesswoman and the richest woman in Monaco, "the senior surviving member of what is, in effect, Monaco’s second dynasty after the ruling Grimaldis".[1] She was murdered in May 2014.
Early life
Hélène Pastor was born in 1937.[1][2] Her father, Gildo Pastor, was an heir and businessman.[1][2][3][4] Her paternal grandfather, Jean-Baptiste Pastor, was an Italian builder who moved to Monaco in the 1880s.[1][2][3][4][5]
She grew up in Monaco with her two brothers, Michel Pastor and Victor Pastor.[2][4][5]
Business
She was the owner of Helene Pastor Pallanca SAM, a real estate company.[6] She owned Le Bahia and Émilie Palace in the Larvotto district,[7][8] the Trocadero,[9] Continental and Le Schuylkill apartment buildings,[10][11] and the Gildo Pastor Center in the Fontvieille district.[6][12][13] They were worth US$3.7 billion.[6]
She was the richest woman in Monaco.[14][15] Most of her wealth came from collecting rents.[6] In its obituary, The Daily Telegraph called her "the senior surviving member of what is, in effect, Monaco’s second dynasty after the ruling Grimaldis".[1] She was known in Monaco as "la vice princesse" (English: "the vice Princess").[1][5]
Personal life
She was married twice.[1] With her first husband, she had a daughter, Sylvia Pastor, born in 1961,[2][6] who lived with Wojciech Janowski, a Polish-born businessman, for 28 years.[16][17]
She then married Claude Pallanca, a dentist.[1][2] They had a son, Gildo Pallanca Pastor, born in 1967.[1][2][4][6]
Assassination
On May 6, 2014, she walked out of the L'Archet Hospital in western Nice, France, where she was visiting her son, and into her chauffeured car.[1][3][18][19] Minutes later, a gunman fired at her car, hitting her chauffeur and herself.[1][3][18] She was rushed to the Saint Roch hospital in central Nice.[19] She woke up from her coma on May 16,[20] but died on May 21, 2014 at the Hospital St Roch in Nice.[2][5][18] She was seventy-seven years old.[2]
Upon her death, the Prince's Palace of Monaco released a statement saying, "HSH the Prince expresses his deep compassion to the children of Mrs Hélène Pastor-Pallanca at the announcement of her tragic passing."[4] Her funeral was attended by Albert II, Prince of Monaco.[16]
Christian Estrosi, the Mayor of Nice, released the following statement, "My thoughts go out to Gildo, Hélène Pastor’s son, as well as all of her relatives. I share their pain and grief. My thoughts also go out to all the Monegasques who were devastated by this tragedy."[4][21]
In June 2014, her son-in-law, admitted to being involved with her assassination.[16]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Hélène Pastor- obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Marie-Pierre Grondahl, L'héritière est décédée: Qui en veut aux Pastor?, Paris Match, May 21, 2014
- 1 2 3 4 Hélène Constanty, Nice: Hélène Pastor, héritière d'un empire de béton, est morte, L'Express, November 05, 2013
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hélène Pastor dies from shooting, The Riviera Times, May 21, 2014
- 1 2 3 4 Kim Willsher, Monaco heiress dies from her injuries after mysterious ambush by gunmen, The Guardian, May 22, 2014
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tom Metcalf, Monaco Murders Reveal Six Hidden Real Estate Billionaires, Bloomberg, October 18, 2014
- ↑ Emporis: Le Bahia
- ↑ Emporis: Émilie Palace
- ↑ Emporis: Trocadero
- ↑ Emporis: Continental
- ↑ Emporis: Le Schuylkill
- ↑ Emporis: Gildo Pastor Center
- ↑ Olivier Toscer, Hélène Pastor : les secrets de famille de la "vice-princesse" de Monaco, Le Nouvel Observateur, May 21, 2014
- ↑ Mark Seal, Murder Made in Monaco, Vanity Fair, November 2014
- ↑ Obituaries: Hélène Pastor, The Times, June 3, 2014
- 1 2 3 Samuel, Henry (June 27, 2014). "Monaco heiress' son-in-law admits to 'involvement' in her murder". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ↑ Willsher, Kim (June 27, 2014). "Monaco billionaire's son-in-law accused of ordering her murder". The Guardian. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Darren Boyle, Monaco diplomat 'in heiress mother-in-law murder plot had debts of €9m including overdraft charge of €1m', The Daily Mail, July 17, 2014
- 1 2 Prominent Monaco figure shot in Nice, The Riviera Times, May 7, 2014
- ↑ Helene Pastor's health improves, The Riviera Times, May 19, 2014
- ↑ Décès d'Hélène Pastor: Christian Estrosi exprime "sa grande tristesse", Nice-Matin, May 21, 2014